Dreams of Ice and Fire

"Who are you?" Mairin asked as she approached the man staring into the distance of a mountain lake. Her breath froze in the air and shivering, she tightly pulled her puffy silver coat around her. She couldn't warm herself as she walked through the snow. She was dressed in a heavy winter coat and a wool dress layered over several pairs of cute and thick leggings with fur lined snow boots but she was still shivering.

How was he not freezing? He wasn't wearing a coat nor were there any footsteps leading to where he stood. Had he been standing there all this time?

Her gaze went skyward to the thick grey clouds above what felt like glacial waters. Across the horizon was an evergreen forest frosted white in front of a purplish mountain range. Mairin couldn't identify where she was. Her only clue was this man.

From what she could see of him, he was broad shouldered and for all the world, wearing traditional white long sleeved robes, intricately edged with thick gold embroidered black edging. His long black hair was long, pulled back into three elaborate braids. She strained to see his face but could not make it out.

The stranger didn't answer so Mairin tried again. Maybe he'd answer her about something that wasn't his name. "Where are we?" There was something about the silence that pained her. It was ludicrous! She didn't know this man, but why did it hurt so much? "Please. Say something."

"A mamu," the wind whispered in response, pulling her red knit cap free.

Mairin reached for hat as it tumbled away, giving chase as it lead her towards the water. "I don't understand." Her black hair fluttered in the breeze behind her as she dove for it. She snatched it at the water's edge. Her amber eyes widened as she stared at the lake in wonderment, the water was frozen for as far as she could see. "I wonder if I can walk across it."

She shook the snowflakes from her hat and pulled it down over her ears. She glanced back to the man but he wasn't where she'd last seen him. When she looked ahead once more, he was walking away from her over the ice. "Hey! It could be dangerous! Haven't you seen the warnings?"

"It's as dangerous as you believe it is," the wind replied. Mairin thought the voice was distinctly male sounding, it was rich and deep though she couldn't place the accent. She took a cautious step onto the ice, searching for any tell tale cracks or unsteadiness.

Nothing happened.

The man continued walking forward, leaving a trail of footprints in the middle of the lake. He stopped and seemed like he was waiting for Mairin to follow.

"Whatever this mamu thing is, it seems pretty cold. Maybe it'd be better to go somewhere warm." She suggested, quickly walking after the man, stepping into his footprints as the safest path across the ice.

"Things will change once you see what you need," the man answered on the wind.

Mairin was still confused by what any of it meant. It was a middle of winter, during a storm, and here she was chasing after some strange man over a frozen lake in the mountains. She tried to remember how she even got here. She paused 10 steps behind the man. Her brows furrowed.

"How did I get here? I was.... it was just walking home from... school." She touched her frozen face with frosted pink glove. She remembered leaving the school and taking her normal route away from the main route through the memorial park and somehow... she ended up here. Wherever here was.

"Don't worry about small things like that," the wind suggested. "Come, see what you need."

Mairin frowned. Was it really that simple? She closed the distance but stopped short when he pointed towards the ice with a turn of his head. His face still indistinguishable, it was like some strange filter had been applied to blur his features to keep her from identifying him. Her gaze followed downward.

Beneath her feet was a glitter of gold beneath a patch of snow. She knelt down and started clearing away the snow to uncover what was hiding in the water. After what felt like hours, she finally saw a large golden dragon submerged and frozen in the ice. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "A dragon? Is it alive?" She didn't know anything about dragons. She was never interested in fantasy novels nor did she play those sorts of games.

The man shook his head, his voice almost mournful. "She sleeps."

Mairin knelt on the ice, placing her hand over the dragon's broad horned head. "When will she wake up?" She looked towards the man, trying to place the connection.

"When the sky tips into the sea, past and destiny will collide together to bring forth the dragon from the depths."

Mairin shook her head. "That makes absolutely no sense." She redirected her gaze to the slumbering dragon, she seemed to sleeping peacefully. "How do you know her?"

"Of all the fires in this world, she is the only one that burns for me." Mairin couldn't see his face but she could tell the man was smiling. She was touched. He extended a hand to her to help her up. She stared at it curiously, uncertain of when they'd gotten that close. She accepted his hand and felt the rough calluses on his hands that indicated he was someone who worked some tough physical labor job. His hand felt warm in hers as she rose to stand in front of him.

"Thank you, Mister." Mairin smiled, not letting go of the man's hand. She felt reassured by his touch that maybe, things were going to be alright. She didn't know what was wrong but there was an ominous cloud over them. He gently squeezed her hand.

"Forever." He whispered. His hand grew hotter to the point of being almost unbearable. Mairin was horrified but she couldn't let go.

"What's happening?!" She panicked as the man burst into flames. The inferno didn't harm her as it engulfed the man before her eyes rendering him to ash in her hands. She fell to her knees, screaming.

"Mairin!"

Mairin smelled searing flesh and felt immense heat against her palms.

Pain jolted Mairin awake, her hands were burning. Her mother's eyes were wide and fearful. "Let go! What are you thinking!?"

Mairin blinked. She was standing in her family's kitchen with her hands placed firmly on the lit burner. She yelped and jerked her hands away. Her eyes watered with searing pain. She was afraid to look at how badly she was burnt.

"What's gotten into you? Max! We're going to the ER!" Her mother yelled deeper into the house, wrapping damp clothes around Mairin's hands.

"What happened?" Her father called from his office.

"Mari's hurt herself!" Her mother slipped her shoes on before wrapping a blanket around Mairin's shoulders. Heavy footsteps ran towards them and with a flurry of movement and keys, Mairin was spirited from the kitchen out to the car and to the hospital.

Mairin stared out the window at the grey sky. It was always the same set-up in her dream. She always met the man beside the mountain lake. She could never see his face but he always burned to ash. It hurt and surprised her no matter how many times she witnessed it. Who was he and why did her heart hurt so much?